{18dec2010: not a UTI}

We got a call from the vet last night with the results of Darwin's urine sample.  It turns out that there doesn't seem to be a UTI, but they watch the culture for a few days in case something changes, but for now things seem normal.  The not so good news is her "specific gravity" was low.  They aren't sure if it's low because she's drinking a lot of water or if it's something more serious such as renal failure.  Our vet tech Ashley said she highly doubt it's renal failure as it's very rare in a dog so young so we shouldn't start getting too worried about it.  They want us to do a first morning catch of urine from Dar and bring it in for testing.  The first morning sample would be a more accurate reading as it should be more concentrated after a night of letting her kidneys do their thing.  Any advice from anyone on how to catch her pee?
I asked about what happens next if this next round of tests show a low gravity and she said it's unlikely, but if it happens we would do blood work on Darwin and go from there.
All this talk about kidney problems makes me wonder if Darwin's three month stint on Prednisone could have affected her.  Seems unrealistic as she was only on it for such a short time, but I guess you never know.... let's just hope her first test was a fluke and this next test comes back clean and normal.  


Onto more entertaining news... After watching Kasha's video of her new trick, I was motivated to try it with Darwin.  I've tried before to balance treats on her head and she never lets me.  Last night was no different.  But last night as she was avoiding me she was very pawy, and jabbed me in the face.  Here's a quick video of our attempt.  You can see in the beginning her paw jab.

I gave up after that.  Later in the night we were playing and she head butted me and gave me a cut above my lip.  hahahaha.  I look like I was in a fight (sorry no pictures of the battle wounds).  As much as it hurt it was pretty entertaining.  Jason said I need to work on my reflexes so I'm more cat like and can avoid getting beat up.  This coming from the guy who got a black eye from Dar.  Hahaha.  
Have a good weekend everyone!

{16dec2010: UTI}

Last post I mentioned Darwin was acting funny.  She was restless and drinking a lot of water and would yelp or cry out as she was laying down.  I mentioned we Googled bloat, which she didn't seem to match the symptoms of.  I also Googled swallowing bones.  We had given her a knuckle bone on Monday night and she started acting funny Monday around midnight.  Tuesday was a very worrisome day, and Tuesday night she was still acting funny.  It didn't seem serious enough to rush to the emergency vet, so we waited till the morning to call our regular vet.  Sleeping Tuesday night wasn't the best sleep as I was listening to Darwin's every move, and heard her cry out at least twice.  By the time we had to get up I was already thinking should we have taken her to the ER, what if I go out there and she's not breathing, what if, what if... of course when I went out to check on her she was fine and annoyed I was making such a fuss over her so early in the morning.

When  I called the vet they were fully booked but managed to squeeze us in for an afternoon appointment.  We went in and I told them her symptoms and what we were worried about and the vet said she wanted to test Darwin's urine because it sounded like a Urinary Tract Infection.  Of course Darwin had peed right before we left the house so her bladder was empty.  They kept her for a few hours to get a sample and then we picked her up.  They'll call later today with the results of the test, but for now Darwin's on a round of Amoxicillin.  I asked if it could be a piece of bone stuck in her stomach, but the vet said because she's not throwing up and she's eating normally it doesn't sound like its a GI issue... WHEW.
When we got home Darwin was worn out after Tuesday at day care then a few hours at the vet so I took advantage of that and painted one of her nails!

hehehehe.  She was so tired she didn't even budge or try to see what I was doing to her.  Now we both have a matching single sparkley holiday nail.  hehe.